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Saturday, 23 April 2011

What Next? (One Hour Runner)

Since completing the C25k training plan, I've just been happy to bask in the glory of being able to run for 30 odd minutes...

I ran the 3 miles back from the garage, after dropping my car off for its MOT (It beat getting the bus home... literally!). I ran 2.5 miles back from the veterinary hospital, after we took Murphy for his check-up, last Saturday (more on that later). And of course there were a few 3 mile runs along the trusty cycle track. I then started to wonder where I should be going next with my running... Further? Faster? Should I be adding more hills to my runs? Maybe a little bit of everything? My original plan was to loosely repeat the C25k plan using pace intervals, rather than run/walk intervals, obviously to help improve pace. Then I wanted to add a short hill run, to work on strength and a long slow run (LSR), to build endurance. I did wonder whether this was all too much, too soon. After searching the internet and gathering snippets of advice, the general consensus seemed to be that new runners should concentrate on increasing their endurance first, as their bodies still aren't ready to deal with speed and strength workouts. It seemed to be recommended that to avoid injury, a new runner should have at least 6 months to 1 year of running and a good base of around 20 miles a week, under their belts, before contemplating pushing the other boundaries. With this in mind I decided to look at some of the C25k follow-on plans.

The first of which was the "Couch-to-10k" training plan. This plan is another run/walk schedule which assumes no fitness level. For that reason I ruled it out, as it would be a bit silly to go right back to the beginning again.

Next up was the "Bridge-to-8k" training plan, which assumes you can already run for 30 minutes and is also a run/walk schedule. I still felt that run/walk intervals were a bit of a backwards step, so I ruled this one out also.

This left the "One Hour Runner" training plan, which also assumes you can already run for 30 minutes. There are no run/walk intervals and the key component of this plan is the one long run per week, which builds up endurance and lays the foundation for further progress. This sounded absolutely perfect!

Below is the full "One Hour Runner" schedule.

Wk

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

1

Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 5km (or approx. 30 minutes).

Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 5km (or approx. 30 minutes).

Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 5km (or approx. 30 minutes).

2

Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 5km (or approx. 30 minutes).

Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 5km (or approx. 30 minutes).

Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 5km (or approx. 30 minutes).

3

Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 5km (or approx. 30 minutes).

Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 5km (or approx. 30 minutes).

Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 5km (or approx. 30 minutes).

4

Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog for 30 minutes.

Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog for 29 minutes.

Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog for 35 minutes.

5

Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog for 30 minutes

Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog for 32 minutes.

Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog for 38 minutes.

6

Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog for 30 minutes.

Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog for 33 minutes.

Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog for 41 minutes.

7

Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog for 30 minutes.

Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog for 34 minutes.

Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog for 45 minutes.

8

Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog for 30 minutes.

Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog for 36 minutes.

Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog for 49 minutes.

9

Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog for 30 minutes.

Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog for 38 minutes.

Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog for 54 minutes.

10

Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog for 30 minutes.

Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog for 40minutes.

Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog for 60 minutes.

I embarked on the new training plan on Monday and have just completed the first week.

And the patient?

As promised earlier, here's an update on how Murphy is recovering after injuring his back just over 2 weeks ago.

The vet was pleased with his progress, as his pain response was much less than it had been the previous week. We were advised to carry on with a daily dose of Metacam and keep Murphy on limited activities for what could be up to 6 weeks, with fortnightly check-ups. The vet said that such injuries are quite common in dogs and that it was probably caused by something as simple as a slightly awkward twist of his back when jumping. Dogs are very good at hiding pain, so some slight injuries can go unnoticed.

Luckily, Murphy seems to be well on the mend and he hasn't shown any more signs of pain or even slight discomfort. Just as well, as the vet threatened him with complete cage rest, if he didn't take things easy.